Sex Charges

August 11, 1985

ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO — The 15-year-old boy confessed to his mother that he had been sexually molesting his young stepsisters. She did not inform him of his rights, that he was entitled to have a lawyer present. Judge John Bennett, agreeing with a defense argument, has thrown out charges of sexual assault and gross indecency against the boy because of the lapse. The Young Offenders Act says that statements made to persons in authority are admissible only if the rights provision is explained. The mother was a person in authority, Bennett ruled. Testimony of the girls could not be admitted without corroboration because of their age.